Saturday wasn’t quite on the level of NCAA tournament excitement as Friday, but it still didn’t disappoint. The story of the day belonged to the Dayton Flyers, who are still dancing and onto the Sweet 16 after upsetting the Syracuse Orange in Buffalo.

Relive all of Saturday’s action by scrolling down, and be sure to check back in tomorrow, where we will live blog every remaining game in the Round of 32.

UCONN 77, VILLANOVA 65 — FINAL

Napier scores 25 and shakes off late leg injury. OK, not Curt Schilling and the bloody sock for New England fans. But it'll do.

MILWAUKEE — And to think, Oregon didn’t even have Mike Moser for much of the first half.

The seventh-seeded Ducks ran roughshod over Wisconsin, using their speed and some hot shooting to silence a Bradley Center crowd that may as well be the Kohl Center East for as red as it is. Jason Calliste has 14 points on a perfect scoreline — 3-for-3, including 1-1 from 3-point range, and 7-for-7 at the line — and the Ducks shot a blistering 56 percent on their way to a 49-37 halftime lead.

If Wisconsin doesn’t find a way to slow down the Ducks, it’s going to be a long ride back to Madison on Saturday night.

Wisconsin is traditionally one of the best defensive teams in the country, but the Badgers don’t often see speed like Oregon has. It seemed as if the Ducks were sprinting on every possession, and they had a 19-2 advantage on fast-break points. But what makes Oregon so dangerous is that it doesn’t just drive when it’s running. No, the Ducks pull up for jumpers or hit threes in transition.

They were 5-of-9 from beyond the arc in the first half, including back-to-back threes by Joseph Young in the final two minutes that turned what had been a close game into an 11-point lead.

Wisconsin actually didn’t have a bad half, shooting close to 50 percent. But it was just 4-of-12 from 3-point range, and it needs Frank Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes to go inside early and often at the start of the second half if the Badgers have any hope of getting back into the game.

Oregon scored 49 points in the first half vs Wisconsin. That's 14 more points than Badgers allowed in the ENTIRE game vs American.

The trendy national champion pick, Michigan State, and the trendy upset pick, Harvard, are set to square off in Spokane. The key for the Crimson will be trying to find an answer for Adreian Payne, who scored 41 points on Thursday. Payne is a matchup nightmare at 6-foot-10. He can score inside and out — athletes capable of containing that type of player don’t go to Ivy League schools. For the Spartans, they’ll have to guard the three-point shot better than they have this season. Harvard is one of the best thee-point shooting teams in the field.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Syracuse takes first lead near two-minute mark but Dayton answers. Fair hitting free throws for SU and teams are trading leads near end of half. Dayton just 3-of-6 from free throw line, not a recipe for an upset.

Flyers’ Sibert airmails an air ball and crowd chants the chant they didn’t chant for all those Orange air balls. Game is being played at Dayton’s pace and Orange still out of sorts. SU shooting just 30 percent from the field. Dayton isn’t much better at 35 percent. But Flyers are up 20-18 at the half and they’ll take it.

DAYTON 14, SYRACUSE 10 — 7:43 left in the first half

From USA TODAY Sports’ Erik Brady:

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Second foul on Matt Kavanaugh big concern for Dayton. Neither one was much. Some calls going Orange’s way and crowd roaring its approval. Then one goes against Orange and crowd boos lustily. Orange fans must have bought a lot of Milwaukee’s and W. Michigan’s tickets when those schools left town. Flyers shortening game with long possessions. Dayton 16-15 at under-4 media TO. Cooney shooting one for five. Even missed a layup.

SAN DIEGO STATE 47, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 38 — 7:42 left in the second half

NDSU can't get over the hump. Have been hovering around the 7-9-point deficit for most of the half. Xavier Thames keeping them at bay.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Dayton going to the basket. Picking up fouls and a goal-tend on bigger SU front line. No one thought it was be as easy as W. Michigan for Orange, but Flyers really taking it to them. SU’s first 5 field goals all at the rim. They’re hitting nothing outside. Four air balls already. Crowd groans when Cooney misses. SU is 5 of 15 from field at under-8 media TO.

Dayton hitting 6 of 13 and playing with more energy and no fear. Crowd usually backs a lower seed. We could see something else at play here if Orange shooting woes keep up: Crowd’s anxiety feeding team’s. Only 14-10, so SU is in OK shape if shots start falling.

SAN DIEGO STATE 42, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 34 — 11:34 left in the second half

From USA TODAY Sports’ Steven Ruiz:

San Diego State shot just 34 percent from three coming into its third round matchup with North Dakota State. Today, the Aztecs have made 7-of-13 from three. The Bison’s best player, Teylor Braun, continues to struggle. He’s shooting 2-11 today, and 10-36 in his last three games going back to the Summit League title game.

MICHIGAN 79, TEXAS 65 — FINAL

Michigan advances to the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis next week to face either Mercer or Tennessee.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Trevor Cooney misses a contested three. Something to sorry about for Orange? This is: Dayton all over the boards early. Crowd urging the Orange as they come up the court. Then: Turnover — and quick jumper for Sanford Vee at other end gives Flyers 11-4 lead. Got to get a TO, and Boeheim calls one. There’s 11 ½ minutes left in first half. Jangled nerves all over the arena.

Cooney way short on another three. He looks around at refs as if to say he’s fouled. That’s three Orange shots that have failed to hit the rim. Dayton looks poised. Syracuse looking confused though they’re playing a surrogate home game. Still 11-4 at the under-12 media TO.

MICHIGAN 74, TEXAS 60 — 2:10 left in the second half

From USA TODAY Sports’ Steven Ruiz:

DAYTON 5, SYRACUSE 4 — 15:55 left in the first half

From USA TODAY Sports’ Erik Brady:

Big pro-Orange crowd restless as Syracuse starts a little slow. Couple of close-in baskets for the Orange and they’re down 5-4 at the under-16 media time out. Dayton’s Matt Kavanaugh picked up an early foul. Bears watching: The Flyers need him. Crowd much louder for SU than Dayton, but brassy Dayton band louder than SU’s. Just saying…

SAN DIEGO STATE 30, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 23 — HALFTIME

From USA TODAY Sports’ George Schroeder:

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Round of 32 has a way of ending those Cinderella stories. It could be happening for North Dakota State. The No. 12 seed Bison trail No. 4 San Diego State 30-23 at halftime.

There’s plenty of time, of course. But probably the only thing more confounding than the way the Bison played to end the first half is Monty Montezuma, the Aztec mascot. Monty keeps blowing a conch shell and is not dressed for spring in the Northwest. The crowd does not seem to know what to make of him.

What has to be disturbing to North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips is his team’s shooting. The Bison lead the nation in field-goal percentage, but they’re only 8-of-28 (28.6 percent). Senior guard Taylor Braun, the leading scorer, is 1-of-10.

Somehow, though, the Bison led 20-15 with six minutes left in the half. They had the crowd at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena buzzing. And then? North Dakota State managed only three free throws the rest of the way.

Led by Xavier Thames, the Aztecs outscored the Bison 15-3. Thames has 16 points, and although he’s only 4-of-12, they’re all 3-pointers. Dwayne Polee II scored on two nice baseline moves and added a 3 during the run to close the half.

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Round of 32 has a way of ending those Cinderella stories. It could be happening for North Dakota State. The No. 12 seed Bison trail No. 4 San Diego State 30-23 at halftime.

There’s plenty of time, of course. But probably the only thing more confounding than the way the Bison played to end the first half is Monty Montezuma, the Aztec mascot. Monty keeps blowing a conch shell and is not dressed for spring in the Northwest. The crowd does not seem to know what to make of him.

What has to be disturbing to North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips is his team’s shooting. The Bison lead the nation in field-goal percentage, but they’re only 8-of-28 (28.6 percent). Senior guard Taylor Braun, the leading scorer, is 1-of-10.

Somehow, though, the Bison led 20-15 with six minutes left in the half. They had the crowd at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena buzzing. And then? North Dakota State managed only three free throws the rest of the way.

Led by Xavier Thames, the Aztecs outscored the Bison 15-3. Thames has 16 points, and although he’s only 4-of-12, they’re all 3-pointers. Dwayne Polee II scored on two nice baseline moves and added a 3 during the run to close the half.

Cinderella in trouble? Taylor Braun is 1-10 for NDSU. Overall: 8-28. After taking 20-15 lead, they were outscored 15-3 to end half.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE 18, SAN DIEGO STATE 15 — 6:50 left in the first half

From USA TODAY Sports’ Steven Ruiz:

We said the Aztecs need to knock down shots, and Xavier Thames has answered the call early. The Mountain West Conference player of the year has three early three-pointers. Meanwhile, North Dakota State’s star, Taylor Braun, is shooting 1-5 from the field.

Basically either San Diego State has to score in transition and off put-backs or it will have to make an uncharacteristic number of jumpers.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE 7, SAN DIEGO STATE 6 — 15:17 left in the first half

From USA TODAY Sports’ Steven Ruiz:

San Diego State needs to make jump shots to end North Dakota State’s Cinderella run. The Bison are willing to concede three point shots in order to protect the paint, and the Aztecs haven’t been a good shooting team all season. North Dakota State is also a good defensive rebounding team, so San Diego State will struggle to get the second-chance opportunities it relies on to make up for its poor shooting.

MICHIGAN 43, TEXAS 30 — HALFTIME

From USA TODAY Sports’ Gerry Ahern:

MILWAUKEE — Michigan dictated the tempo — quick and dirty — as it blitzed to a 43-30 lead at halftime in its NCAA tournament Round of 32 matchup with Texas on Saturday.

The dead-eye shooting of Nick Stauskas and Caris LeVert was huge. So was the Wolverines’ ability to set screens, fast break and finish.

Michigan is absolutely killing Texas from the three-point line, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Yes, Texas ranks in the top-40 in three-point percentage defense, but that is a deceiving and finicky stat. The real measure of good three-point defense is how many threes a defense allows (which makes sense logically: Teams rarely take contested threes, so if a team is shooting a lot of threes, it’s because they’re open looks). And the Longhorns give up the 41st most three point attempts in the country. Texas has already allowed one of the best shooting teams in the country 11 attempts from beyond the arc.

MICHIGAN 27, TEXAS 12 — 7:38 left in the first half

Texas can't guard, can't shoot and down 27-12 at 7:38 of first. Michigan, meanwhile is doing both with aplomb. This could get ugly.

Michigan and Texas are close to tipping off in the day’s third game. The contest will be an interesting clash of offensive styles. The Wolverines are largely a perimeter scoring team — the Big Ten regular season champs get 34.3 percent off their points from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Longhorns get 55.9 percent of their scoring from inside the arc, which ranks 52nd nationally.

LOUISVILLE 66, SAINT LOUIS 51 — FINAL

Louisville to the Sweet 16, where Rick Pitino is undefeated in regional semifinals. Final Four rematch vs Shockers or rivalry rematch vs UK?

The Billikens are slowly getting themselves in back in this game by protecting the ball. Not only has that allowed Saint Louis to be more efficient offensively, but it has also helped them on the defensive end. Louisville is averaging 0.36 points on possessions not preceded by a Saint Louis turnover.

Louisville has more airballs (3) than points (2) so far ths half. They have even more missed layups. SLU has cut the lead to three

ORLANDO — There are going to be more questions than answers about whether Louisville is a true national title contender coming out of the first two rounds.

For the most part, Louisville’s reputation as the nation’s hottest team was earned by its play late in the season against the bottom half of the American Athletic Conference, piling up huge margins of victory against the Houstons, Rutgers and Temples of the world. Though they also blew out UConn twice (and beat the Huskies three times this season), the Cardinals were a much different team against Cincinnati (one close win, one close loss) and Memphis (two losses) than the AAC teams who didn’t make the NCAA Tournament.

That’s not a criticism, by the way. Louisville did exactly what you’re supposed to do against bad teams.

But the Cardinals’ play so far in the Midwest Regional has been less impressive. After surviving one kind of test from Manhattan — a team that runs exactly the same system as Louisville — they are getting another right now from Saint Louis. The deliberate, grind-it-out Billikens have been very poor on offense in the first half here, making just 6-of-21 field goals and committing 11 turnovers.

But Louisville hasn’t exactly taken advantage. Despite leading 25-16, there are some visible concerns about the Cardinals, who have struggled to make outside shots this weekend and have 10 turnovers of their own.

Louisville could easily be up 20 points right now, but Rick Pitino’s team just hasn’t been sharp offensively all weekend. We’ll see if that changes in the second half, but the Cardinals will certainly need to be better next week if they want to make a third straight Final Four.

At the first media timeout, Saint Louis is getting the kind of tempo it wants. This game is on pace for about 60 possessions — Louisville would like that number to be at 70 by the end of the game. Also, expect Saint Louis to start running Luke Hancock off the three-point line. The Billikins have been one of the best teams defending the outside over the last few seasons — they’ll clean up those early mistakes.

When Manhattan had Louisville against the ropes Thursday, the Jaspers’ biggest fans might have been Saint Louis. The Billikens could not have drawn a worse matchup in the Round of 32. Saint Louis’ has struggled at times to take care of the basketball on the offensive end, and Louisville ranks second nationally in defensive turnover percentage.

The Cardinals are a complete team but they do have one glaring weakness: defensive rebounding. The problem for Saint Louis is, it’s not a very good offensive rebounding team. The Billikens rebound 28.9 percent of their misses, which ranks 260th in the nation.
Saint Louis doesn’t have the ability to take advantage of Louisville’s weakness, while the Cardinals may be the team most equipped to take advantage of Saint Louis’ biggest offensive flaw.

If Pitt can get within two possessions and make this into a free-throw shooting contest,they will have a chance. Florida has struggled at the charity stripe all season. The Gators shoot just 66.4 percent from the line, which ranks 287th nationally.

Wilbekin has 17 points on 7 of 13 shots (3 of 7 from 3). Gators not named Wilbekin are 15 of 41.

ORLANDO — Halftime couldn’t come fast quite enough for Pitt against the No. 1 seed Florida Gators. After a solid start, the Panthers got the full Florida defensive experience in the final 10 minutes of the half and trail 27-22 in a slugfest of a game.

Pitt had a chance to go to the locker room down just 2, but Gators point guard Scottie Wilbekin drilled a 3-pointer right at the buzzer.

​The Gators, who were a bit sluggish in their Round of 64 victory over Albany, have turned up the pressure big-time and have held Pitt to just 10-of-25 shooting. After a couple defensive breakdowns early, the Gators have clogged every driving lane and have forced Pitt deep into the shot clock, where point guard James Robinson or wing Lamar Patterson has had to improvise and take a contested shot. That’s not a good recipe for an upset bid.

Fortunately for Pitt, they hit a couple jumpers at the end of the half to stay within shouting distance after falling behind 22-17 and looking like they might unravel.

The Gators haven’t had an easy time scoring, either; Pitt’s defense has been mostly solid. But a couple live-ball turnovers that led to layups and a couple breakdowns guarding sharpshooter Michael Frazier (6 points on 2-of-4 shooting) have been the difference.

This has been every bit the physical battle that was expected between two of the most defensive-oriented teams in the entire tournament.

We’re starting to see why an obviously talented Pitt team is just a No. 9 seed. The Panthers rely too heavily on Lamar Patterson to get their offense going. When he’s on the floor, he takes 29.6 percent of their shots and assists on 30 percent of their baskets. So far, he’s 1-5 from the field with only one assist. A good coach can gameplan against a one-man offense, and Billy Donovan certainly qualifies as one.

Frazier just made 110th 3-pointer of season to tie Kenny Boynton (2011-12) for third in #Gators history most threes 1 season.

Here’s a little pregame analysis: Florida, the nation’s No.1 team, gets its first test of the tournament today against Pitt. The Panthers are one of the few teams that can match the Gators experience and strength inside. Patric Young who dominated against Albany, will have his hands full against Pitt’s Talib Zanna. Panthers guard Lamar Patterson is a dynamic offensive threat who will challenge Florida’s defense in a variety of ways. Bottom line: Florida is going to have to play well to advance to the Sweet 16.